The study was motivated by a concern for the high vulnerability of poor African women to
HIV/AIDS in South Africa and an understanding of their role in the growing informal trade
sector in Durban. As the institution responsible for managing informal trade development, this
study examines the role of local government in addressing AIDS vulnerability and impact
within this economic sector.
Local government in South Africa is at the centre of potentially conflicting policy agendas:
promoting citizen participation in social and economic development while creating an efficient
and competitive local economy. The research outlines how the challenge of meeting these
divergent goals has influenced policy approaches to informal trade and the extent to which
these constrain or support women traders and their enterprises. The study examines how this in
turn influences their economic vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. The study also explores the
institutional attitudes and current approaches to addressing HIV/AIDS in the informal trade
sector and explores the potential for a targeted and integrated response.
In-depth interviews with local government staff and external stakeholders were used to
investigate institutional perspectives on the significance of HIV/AIDS and the importance of
creating appropriate local level interventions within informal trade settings. Interviews also
assessed current management and support strategies for informal trade and examined whether
these create an enabling environment for women to protect themselves and their enterprises
against the threat and impact of HIV/AIDS. Interviews were supported by an extensive review
of gender and HIV/AIDS literature and analysis of relevant policy regarding informal economy
and SMME development in South Africa.
The study found that the multiple pressures on local government, as well as institutional
restructuring and staff changes have inhibited progress towards implementing an effective
management strategy for informal trade. A lack of regulation threatens the security and
livelihoods of survivalist women traders, and high barriers to obtaining permits to trade impact
negatively on women due to their multiple constraints and responsibilities. The study revealed
that priority in providing holistic business support, including skills development and financial
services, is skewed towards more profitable enterprises which has excluded most women
traders. This has restricted women's productive capacity and enterprise development and
heightened their economic vulnerability to HIV infection and impact. This is compounded by a
lack of functional, representative organisations to convey the concerns of marginalised female
traders to local government.
It is likely that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in informal markets in Durban is high. However,
stigma and discrimination has prevented widespread disclosure. The vulnerability of women
and the impact of HIV/AIDS on their enterprises and local economic development is recognised by staff working at street level, but not by key decision makers. This, in
conjunction with the marginalisation of the sector as a whole, has influenced the lack of
progress in developing a co-ordinated multidisciplinary response to HIV/AIDS among informal
workers. Few interventions which directly address HIV/AIDS have been put in place in the
informal workplace, largely because of a lack of understanding of the crisis; its
conceptualisation as a health issue only; and the fixed location of local government's response
within the health department.
Acknowledging the resource and capacity constraints within local government, the study
concludes by outlining a series of realistic potential interventions which can be mainstreamed
within the standard functions of local government. A shift in thinking is required to
conceptualise AIDS as a workplace issue, and recognise the significance of its economic
impact. Women traders need to be considered as valuable and vulnerable workers, as well as
mothers and carers and therefore as an important group for targeted HIV/AIDS interventions.
The study calls for gender-sensitive measures to be implemented, which recognise the specific
needs and constraints of women in the informal trade sector. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/3477 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Lee, Sabrina. |
| Contributors | Lund, Frances. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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